Their eyes met, the chill cutting him to the bone like ice-cold filet knives. Detective Kilner was present, sitting in a chair at her bedside. “Ah, Aaron,” Detective Kilner said. The man stood and tucked his notepad in his jacket. This is it, Aaron thought. The moment of truth. “Guess who’s awake?” the man continued. Aaron realized he wasn’t breathing and remembered to do so. He forced a smile and looked at his mother again. His faux smile became a real one. Regardless of what the woman had said to the detective and what she thought of him, he was happy to see her awake. “Mom, how are you feeling?” he asked. She smiled back at him. It was genuine, he thought. She had bags under her eyes, the flesh a shade of purple. Her skin appeared more wrinkly than normal. She had lost weight. “Come here and give your mother a hug,”
